Month: September 2018

With the reveal of both Anaheim Ducks goaltenders, John Gibson and Ryan Miller‘s, new masks for the upcoming season, I felt inspired to share my thoughts about them and the process of painting goalie masks as a whole. I am Pucks of A Feather’s resident goalie after all!

For starters, I am absolutely in love with both designs. However, for the sake of not jumping all over the place, let’s start with Miller, seeing as he stuck with his design from last season for the most part.“Miller Time ” – Ryan Miller

Miller’s normal design with the Wild Wing mask was solid as is. The second one he had made was created by the talented artists at Bishop Designs to match the new alternates, and it’s is simply amazing. It’s the perfect combination of retro vibes, with the alternate color scheme, and the sleek design of Wild Wing’s mask.

Along with Wild Wing’s mask, Miller’s backplate stayed the same. It features the silhouettes of his wife, Noureen and their son Bodhi. They’re standing along the beach under some palms with a flock of ducks flying in a ‘V’ pattern off in the distance. This is all above his staple, “Miller Time”.

Miller has a history of really great masks crafted by Bishop Designs, dating back to his days with Sabres. So, it’s no surprise that they came through again for another great mask. I think it is a great indicator that his mask is already catching people’s attention and really standing out.

This also means that he has an alternate set of pads in the works that will most likely follow suit. I’m a sucker for gear that flows well color wise and, given what Miller has used with us so far, I think we’re in for a real treat!

“The Mighty Ducks 25 Years” – John Gibson

Gibson’s mask design came out of left field today over on the NHL’s official accounts. It’s a fairly simple design on paper. It utilizes the various Ducks logos from this season, including the Mighty Duck logo on the forehead.

Gibby is a client of the extremely talented artist, Dave Gunnarsson, an artist based in Sweden. His clientele includes goalies like Henrik Lundqvist, Pekka Rinne, Andrei Vasilevski and Braden Holtby, just to name a few. Dave has been a key member of the goalie community for years, creating new and innovative ways for his pro clients to have their masks painted. He utilizes everything from 3D Graphics, holograms, and even water activated paint, as seen on Vasilevski’s recent masks.Back to Gibby’s mask! It features the 25th Anniversary logo on both cheeks with bolts of lightning and lens flares all along the numbers. For the rest of the mask, they went with this odd sketch design that almost makes the numbers on the chin and the Mighty Ducks logo up top look like they’re made of burlap.

I’m not a huge fan of the look, but I’m fairly sure it’ll stand out and look great on the ice regardless. Overall, I like the mask. Dave always comes up with great designs for his goalies and this is another one he knocked out of the park! I have a hunch that just like Miller, we’ll most likely see an alternate mask for Gibby this year. It just seems likely with a new set of jerseys the team gets to wear.

What It Means To Us

That’s pretty much all I wanted to say about the two new masks, but I want to talk a little bit about the process as a whole and what it means to us goalies. It started back in the days when goalies started making the switch to wearing masks to protect themselves from taking shots to the face. Gerry Cheevers was the first goalie to add art to his mask, marking it with a line anytime he was struck by a stick and or puck, and thus the tradition began.I’m currently in the process of designing one for myself. I really can’t describe what I want and plan on getting because frankly, I have too many ideas floating around my mind. The main thing I keep trying to remind myself is the fact that it should represent me as an individual because that’s what we are. Goalies are all different. We all may use the same style, buy the same gear, look up to the same guys, but at the end of the day, we’re all unique.Originally, I wanted to base my mask around a prior design Al Montoya used in Winnipeg. However, I’m slowly moving away from it because doesn’t feel right. It feels lazy in my opinion. For those that follow me on Twitter, you’re gonna be surprised. I was so crazy about this design and have been talking about it for months now. It feels like a cop-out to say that I had a cool mask made when I put no effort into it. That’s just me though.

To me, it’s more than just art. It’s a special privilege that a goalie gets. I’m not, nor will I ever be a pro with a very disposable income, so I can’t justify buying new masks ever so often and getting masks painted willy-nilly. It’s truly something I’m really trying to make as perfect as I can on the first go around.All in all, its a really fun and exciting process that takes a lot of work, but is totally worth it once the final product is sitting in front of you. Hope you enjoyed this spur of the moment article!

Kyle Capobianco is the only player present at the Coyotes’ annual rookie camp who has played in the NHL. Incidentally, he’s one of only a few players at camp who has a shot at cracking a deep NHL roster.

The Coyotes are still considered a young team by most standards. After all, rookies accounted for 121 of Arizona’s 553 total points last season and have accounted for more than 100 points in each of the last three seasons.

But it doesn’t seem as though 2018-19 will follow that trend.

As the club’s annual rookie camp kicked off Friday at the Ice Den Scottsdale, there were only a handful of players on the roster who could realistically be called up by the Coyotes at some point this season. And even fewer with shot at making the opening night roster.

Capobianco is one of those select few. Sure, he appeared in only one game with the Coyotes last season, but the left-shot defenseman tallied 30 points in 49 games with the club’s AHL affiliate in Tucson last season.“Everyone’s excited here,” Capobianco said of rookie camp. “The last couple years, a guy from camp usually makes the team. It’s an exciting time and everyone’s going full speed right now.”

Capobianco is referring to the recent string of first-year players that have been able to break in with the club out of rookie camp. It was Clayton Keller last year, and he went on to register 65 points en route to a third-place finish in the Calder Trophy voting as a 19-year-old.But the Coyotes’ roster is relatively set as the team sits a little less than a month out from the start of the regular season. A lot can change during training camp, which kicks off Thursday, but most positions seem at least penciled in.

The Coyotes’ depth at the center position is well-documented with Derek Stepan, Alex Galchenyuk, Christian Dvorak, Dylan Strome and Brad Richardson under contract. There doesn’t seem to be much room on the wings, either, which we can infer from looking at a projection of the team’s line combinations.

And although the defense seems fairly solidified — especially after the re-signing of Kevin Connauton and acquisition of Jordan Oesterle via trade — there could be one opening if Jakob Chychrun has not fully recovered from ACL surgery before opening night.

Such a scenario could mean that Oesterle would jump into the starting lineup and another player would take the No. 7 defense spot.

Capobianco could certainly be in the mix, but so would fellow Roadrunners defensemen Trevor Murphy and Dakota Mermis. Other new arrivals such as Ilya Lyubushkin and Robbie Russo would be considered as well, and either could have a chance to make the club out of training camp anyway.

Given the difficulty of cracking this year’s NHL roster, one of the deepest the Coyotes have had in recent memory, Friday’s skate and the upcoming 2018 Vegas Rookie Faceoff this weekend is about the players demonstrating growth between now and the Coyotes’ July rookie development camp.

“This is an evaluation camp; the July camp was a development camp,” Coyotes President of Hockey Operations and General Manager John Chayka said. “This is an opportunity for players to earn contracts and make a team.”

Following Friday’s on-ice session, the players boarded a flight to Las Vegas and will play three games over the coming days against the Sharks (Saturday), Kings (Sunday) and Ducks (Tuesday). Each game will be streamed on the team’s website.Jay Varady, who was named the Roadrunners’ new head coach in July, will be coaching the rookie team in Vegas along with the rest of the Tucson staff. Several of the club’s prospects, including forwards Tyler Steenbergen and Brayden Burke, have a chance to make the jump from juniors to the AHL this season if they impress during the tournament.

“(I’m looking for) the best version of themselves,” Varady said of what he’s looking for in players aiming to make the Tucson roster. “They’ve been scouted, they’ve been drafted and they’ve come through our development process.

“Maybe one guy played junior hockey and was this player at junior hockey. We want to help that player progress into the next level of hockey and becoming a pro.”

Barrett Hayton, the club’s first-round draft pick in June and the fifth player taken overall, will likely be heading back to his junior hockey team despite signing his three-year, entry-level deal with the Coyotes in July.

The same goes for 2017 first-rounder Pierre-Olivier Joseph, who along with Hayton is ineligible to play in the AHL until they are at least 20 years old. Because they are both under contract with the Coyotes, they could theoretically play in the NHL this season, but such a scenario seems unlikely.The Coyotes will host a fan festival at Gila River Arena from 1-3 p.m. on Saturday. Admission is free. Many players will be on hand for autographs and selfies, and there will be other activities available for fans including interactive games.

The team will then kick off training camp on Thursday with medicals, fitness training and media day at Gila River Arena, with the first official practices taking place on Friday at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., and 2 p.m. at Gila River Arena. Each session is free and open to the public.

The Coyotes will have three additional sessions on Sept. 15 before playing their first preseason game on Sept. 16 against the Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena.

Gila River Arena will host two preseason games as the Coyotes host the Kings on Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. and to the Ducks on Sept. 22 at 6 p.m.

The comparisons have seemingly always been there for Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson.

The Bruins opted to draft the Swedish forward with the 45th pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, with Don Sweeney and Boston’s management jumping on the opportunity to reel in a skilled center lauded for his cerebral style of play and two-way potential.

Remind you of anyone on the Black and Gold?

Labeled as “Patrice Bergeron 2.0″ by Bruins defenseman and former Boston University teammate Matt Grzelcyk, Forsbacka Karlsson has the polish to be a reliable center in today’s NHL — and he might just get his chance this fall.”He has an immense ability,” Providence Bruins head coach Jay Leach said. “I guess the way I’d describe it, his skill level does set him apart from a lot of people. I think he’d say it and we’ve talked at length about his year last year and where he had to come from and where he has to get to.

“He learned the pro game last year. He’s going to have the ability to make an impact here, whether it’s right away or in the near future, just really because of his skillset.”

Among the field of potential candidates for the Bruins’ vacant third-line center position, Forsbacka Karlsson holds the edge over fellow prospects like Jack Studnicka and Trent Frederic in terms of experience in the system.

After skating with the Terriers for two seasons, Forsbacka Karlsson inked an entry-level deal with the Bruins back in April 2017 — appearing in Boston’s regular-season finale against the Washington Capitals.

The 21-year-old skater then spent all of last season down with Providence, tallying 32 points in 58 games while missing a chunk of the year while recovering from a concussion.

Forsbacka Karlsson projects as a reliable, skilled center up in the pro ranks, but Leach did note that “JFK” had to adjust to the more physical style of the AHL — a transition that most players go through over the course of an entire season.What we worked on last year was really his 200-foot game,” Leach said of Forsbacka Karlsson. “He was playing against younger players and when you play against men, you have to be harder on pucks and close quickly. It’s almost unfair, but we compare everyone to (Patrice) Bergeron, but at the same time it’s great.

“It sets a level, it sets a standard that all these kids are trying to get to. So if you were to compare him to Bergy, that’s what he’s working on, the ability to close, to compete on pucks and then let his offensive instincts take over.”

Given his pedigree and potential, Forsbacka Karlsson is expected to compete for the Bruins’ vacant pivot position over the next couple of weeks, joining both Frederic and Studnicka for the team’s upcoming preseason trip to China.

“I feel like it’s always going to be a competition during camp,” Forsbacka Karlsson said Thursday. “That’s what it’s always about. It’s going to be a fun trip and it’s going to be a great opportunity for me to show my game.”

Leach isn’t the one burdened with the responsibility of choosing the Bruins’ new third-line center — but did add that Forsbacka Karlsson, Frederic and Studnicka all leave a distinct impact on a game whenever they skate out on the ice.”JFK has high-end skill. He can make high-end plays. You can put him with some real skilled players and he’ll be able to make plays,” Leach said. “Freddy, he’s a little bit more old school.

“He’s more up and down (the ice). He can make plays and by no means is he lacking in the skill front. But he has a little bit more of an abrasive style. He’s going to be hard down low. What little I’ve seen of Jack, he’s probably a cross between the two of them. So if we could just morph them all into one, we’d have a heck of a player.”

The Buffalo Sabres prospects were back at it on Saturday night as they played against the prospects from the Boston Bruins in game 2 of the 2018 Prospects Challenge.

The results were not as positive as game 1 though as the Sabres fell to the Bruins 3-1 in front of another sold out crowd at Harborcenter. The Sabres played well but ran into a tough Bruins team. “That was a good team. It was very valuable. A team like that, you can’t turn pucks over at the blue line, they’re going to come back at you. Like I said, a lot of individualized play for us. I didn’t think we were as physical, especially in front of the net. We couldn’t sustain to be there.” – Coach Chris Taylor

After Jonas Johansson was net on Friday, 2017 second round draft pick Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was the goaltender for the Sabres on Saturday. The big Finnish goaltender allowed 2 goals on 31 shots with the Bruins adding an empty net goal. Luukkonen played well enough with the Sabres defense not doing much for him on either goal. Luukkonen will be back with the Sudbury Wolves of the OHL in 2018-19.

The lone goal for the Sabres came from Vasily Glotov who tied the game with 17:37 of the first period. The goal was assisted by Eric Cornel and Matej Pekar. Glotov, the Sabres 7th round draft pick in the 2016 NHL draft, remains unsigned by the Sabres but has a contract with the Rochester Americans.The biggest addition in the lineup was defenseman Brendan Guhle who did not play in game 1 on Friday night. Guhle, who is battling for on of the final defenseman spots with the Sabres, played well and was one of the oldest players on the ice for Buffalo.Of course also on the ice for the Sabres were Rasmus Dahlin and Casey Mittelstadt, two of the players everybody is most excited about for this season. Dahlin was on the ice for one of the Bruins goals but did create some offensive chances. Mittelstadt had a couple of shots on goals but he has yet to register a point in either game of the tournament.The Prospects Challenge returns on Monday with the New Jersey Devils facing the Bruins at 9:30 AM and the Sabres playing the Pittsburgh Penguins at 12:30. The Sabres game can be streamed at sabres.com.

finished sixth in the Metropolitan Division with 83 points, 14 off the last wildcard spot.

Leading the team in points and goals was the talented Finnish forward Sebastian Aho, scoring 29 goals and 65 points. This will be Aho’s third season in the NHL, and if he keeps improving at the rate he is now, we could very well see an 80-point season from the 21-year-oldTrailing Aho by just a point was his fellow countryman Teuvo Teravainen, who is just 23 and still rapidly improving. The Finnish duo could wreak havoc on any team in the NHL.

Third in scoring for the Hurricanes last season was veteran winger Justin Williams. The 36-year-old returned to Carolina after nine years with a bang, scoring 51 points, his fourth-best season in the past decade. Williams still has a lot more than just experience to offer.

Carolina was involved in three trades, most significantly trading away Jeff Skinner. The 26-year-old winger was in the final year of his contract, resulting in a move to the Buffalo Sabres after putting up 49 points last season. The Hurricanes received a second, third, and sixth-round pick as well as prospect Cliff Pu, who will start the season in the AHL.

In a more surprising move, Carolina traded away Noah Hanifin and Elias Lindholm, both quite young players who seemed to have underperformed or reached a plateau in that system. Hanifin and Lindholm have been traded to Calgary Flames for defenseman Dougie Hamilton, winger Michael Ferland as well as Harvard prospect Adam Fox.

Playing on a second defensive line with Hamilton might be new signing Calvin De Haan, who is ready to prove himself after playing only 33 games last season for the New York Islanders due to injury.

The rookies coming in are this team’s main strength. This draft’s second overall pick Andrei Svechnikov is expected to be a first or second-line winger as well as his 23-year-old countryman Valentin Zykov.

Last year’s first-round pick Martin Nečas is expected to center the second or third line behind Aho or Teravainen and Jordan Staal. 24-year-old Saku Maenalanen is not only expected to come over from Finland to make 2018 his rookie year, but is also a certain tongue-twister for any North American commentator.

It was a rough season for goalies in Carolina. Scott Darling was brought in as a starter after his very consistent showing as a back-up with the Chicago Blackhawks. In 2016/17, Darling played 32 games and had a .924 save percentage, but suffered a huge drop-off last season.

Darling put up a .888 save percentage and had 3.18 goals against average, leading to him splitting time with Cam Ward exactly 50/50. In an ironical turn of events, Ward’s solid numbers earned him a free agency move to Chicago as a back-up there, expecting to be the starter in the beginning as Corey Crawford recovers from injury.

Hurricanes brought in goalie Petr Mrazek from free agency on a very nice $1.5 millon contract. Mrazek has had some problems with management in Detroit, causing him to be traded to Philadelphia. Though not the most consistent, he is still a good goalie and can alternate starts with Darling based on form.

New Calgary Flames head coach Bill Peters was feeling cooped up in the office this summer and couldn’t wait to get on ice at the Stampede Corral Friday morning to run his first practice at Calgary Flames rookie camp. The more than two dozen prospects that hit the ice got a first-hand look at the animated and intense coach they were trying to impress.“They’re going to play the same way we are,” Peters said. “Whether you end up here or in Stockton or back in junior, you want to take away the way we’re going to play and the way you’ve got to practice.”

Players like forward Dillon Dube, who was raised in Cochrane, are looking to make the jump to the NHL this season and were glad Peters was on the ice to run practice.“Obviously he’s pretty intense,” Dube said. “It keeps you sharp; it makes you better. You’re dialed in the whole time and want to be sharp the whole time because if not, you might get yelled at a little bit.”

Calgary-raised forward Matthew Phillips wants to make the jump from junior hockey to make a paycheque this season at the pro level.

“My goal all summer is to play pro hockey and that’s what I’m going to try and do,” Phillips said. “I’m going to work my hardest and try and stick around here as long as I can.”

Last year’s first-round draft pick Juuso Valimaki has a legitimate chance to earn a spot on the Flames defence by the end of training camp. Peters’ high-energy practice got his attention.

“Intense guy but he always wants the best out of his players and seems like a really good coach,” Valimaki said. “I want to steal a spot–simple as that.”Forwards Spencer Foo and Andrew Mangiapane were the only players on the ice with NHL experience with the Flames. Mangiapane has recovered from off-season shoulder surgery and is motivated to crack the Flames squad this season.

“I’m pretty motivated,” Mangiapane said. “I’m trying to earn a spot. I think that I’ve proven myself in the AHL and now I need to prove myself in the NHL.”

Foo says he can’t wait to play Sunday’s game at the Saddledome against the Edmonton Oilers’ prospects.

“It’s going to be a blast,” Foo said. “First game of the season is always exciting–whether it’s exhibition or not. I think everyone’s pretty pumped up.”

The Flames and Oilers prospects battle at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Saddledome. The Calgary Flames’ first pre-season game is Saturday, Sept. 15 in China against the Boston Bruins.

The slow crawl to the Chicago Blackhawks’ regular season seems less torturous with each passing day. There are 31 days left until the regular season kicks off.

As that number decreases, the excitement increases. Another shot to prove the window isn’t closed. Another chance to show that the Blackhawks can be successful. Another opportunity to give everything and finish on top.

Today we will look at a goaltender who helped the Blackhawks achieve something they hadn’t since 1961: winning a Stanley cup and ending a long, 49-season drought.

Antti Niemi sits among numerous goaltenders who have donned the No. 31 on the Blackhawks sweater, preceding Anton Forsberg currently and Antti Raanta during his time with the Blackhawks in 2014-15.

Rewind a bit further and the names become a bit more decorated. Hall of Famers Dominik Hasek and Ed Belfour have worn the No. 31 as well. Quite the sweater to fill.

Niemi may not be headed for the Hall of Fame, but he has forever etched his name in Blackhawks history as well as on the Stanley Cup itself.The 2010 Stanley Cup Final will always be a special moment for me as well as many generations of Blackhawks fans. The drought would finally end and the streets of Chicago would run red with fans in Blackhawks apparel.Niemi played a key role in bringing the Stanley Cup back to Chicago in 2010. The Blackhawks played a total of 22 games on their journey to lifting the Stanley Cup. Niemi was the starter for all of them.

Posting a .910 SV% and a 2.63 GAA, Niemi also became a champion. Who can forget that iconic OT win sending an ecstatic Patrick Kane the length of the ice towards Niemi?

While the 2009-10 season was not a career year for Niemi on paper, it is by far his best season based on the outcome. Since the 2010 season concluded, Niemi has seen six additional teams. Residing now in Montreal, he will continue to back up Carey Price. Niemi becomes a UFA once the 2018-19 season concludes.The 2010 Stanley Cup was the first for me as a Blackhawks fan. I know that I am not alone. Generations of Blackhawks fans waited, remained patient through the dark years in the early 2000s. All of the support would pay off as a result of Niemi’s net presence. He will remain, in many fans eyes, a Blackhawks legend.

EAGLE — Western Eagle County Metropolitan Recreation District is partnering with the Colorado Avalanche to bring the Mile High Mites Learn to Play Hockey program to the ice rink in Eagle.

The program is designed to introduce kids to hockey and helps counter the cost of equipment. For $190, kids get a full set of ice hockey gear and six practices, some of with will include Avalanche alumni.

Registration must be done by Thursday, Sept. 13, and will be on a first come, first served basis on availability.One player for the Learn to Play program at the association/rink of your choice
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Full set of CCM gear

Hockey 101 for players and parents at Pepsi Center

One on-ice session will include an Avs alumni to teach the game and educate the players, coaches and parents

The program is open to players 5-9 years of age (birth years 2009-13)

Note: 4-year-olds can be eligible but must have had their fourth birthday by May. 1, 2017, to be eligible to participate.